A/N – Here's the next chapter! Thank you all so much for your reviews and notes and for all of the encouragement you all still give me. Your feedback is so appreciated and helps me so much. I hope everyone likes this chapter. And I apologize for a bit of a delay in getting this chapter out. Sorry about that!
Disclaimer – I don't own Glee.
"Mom, this is my daughter, Rachel Berry," Shelby said to complete the introductions.
Shelby's voice was suddenly weary and not lively like it had been during the spirited conversation she'd just had with her daughter as they walked home. Rachel could tell the difference right away. Evelyn turned her unrelenting stare from her daughter to the new creature in front of her. Her eyes bore into Rachel causing the girl to flinch unconsciously.
Rachel looked back and forth between her mother's gentle gaze and Evelyn's hard and stern expression. The woman was staring at her and Rachel was extremely unnerved by it. Something about this woman made her feel uneasy and she took a step closer to Shelby. She maneuvered herself so she could stand somewhat behind her mother. She hadn't done something like this since she was little and always had to hide behind one of her fathers at the local ice cream parlor they used to go to. Rachel had overheard a teenage employee telling his buddy that the ice cream scoops would be perfect weapons for zombie because then the zombies could scoop your brains out. Rachel was convinced from then on out that the woman who owned the store and all of her employees were zombies. She only braved going into the place with her fathers because the ice cream was so good. It had taken them months, though, to figure out why she was scared of ice cream scoops.
But this feeling of anxiousness went beyond the fear of zombie ice cream parlors. Evelyn Corcoran was tall; at least five inches taller than Shelby, and hard and looking down at Rachel as if the girl had done something to personally offend her. Rachel could see the hints of family resemblance, but she looked into her mother's kind eyes and felt grateful that the resemblances stopped with brown hair and like skin tone. She suddenly wondered what Shelby's father looked like.
"It is rude not to say anything when you've been introduced to someone, let alone an elder and a member of your family," Evelyn said to Rachel.
"Hi," Rachel said softly.
Evelyn couldn't see it, but Rachel lifted a still-gloved hand and grasped onto the back of Shelby's coat. Rachel normally wasn't this intimidated by new people and she certainly knew how to hold her own and defend herself, verbally at least, but this was different. This wasn't some stupid kid making fun of her in school, this was her grandmother. But this woman didn't seem as if she were anything like Rachel's other grandmothers. Rachel wanted to give the woman the benefit of the doubt because she'd only just met her, but Shelby's body language and tone of voice weren't helping. Her mom was not happy to see Evelyn and the annoyance went far beyond how her dads felt sometimes when their parents were in town.
"Mom," Shelby sighed. "Don't."
"Don't what?" Evelyn asked. "Expect manners? Though I suppose I shouldn't. That's what you get for having a baby for those people."
Rachel stood up straighter and her grip on Shelby's jacket tightened and her eyes narrowed. Rachel may be intimidated, but she wasn't going to tolerate any attacks on her fathers.
"Stop," Shelby said before Rachel could say something. "Just stop."
"Fine," Evelyn said. "Well are we going to stand in the hallway all night long or are you going to open the door and let us in. It's clear she's still freezing."
Shelby didn't say a word as she pulled out her keys and opened the door. Evelyn and her suitcase went in first and then Shelby was able to get Rachel to let go and walk into the apartment. Rachel waited by Shelby's side though as the woman locked the door.
"What are you doing here?" Shelby asked.
Shelby and Rachel moved away from the door and removed their jackets and gloves. Rachel took them to hang them up so she could stay out of the way of this.
"I wanted to meet my granddaughter," Evelyn said. "You were never going to introduce her to your father and I; you didn't even have the courtesy to call and tell us yourself. We had to hear about it on the news."
"We've already been through this," Shelby said alluding to their conversation earlier that weekend. "I was going to tell you, but everything has been happening so fast."
"That's a poor excuse, even from you, Shelby," Evelyn said.
Rachel slipped her shoes off and put them just inside the closet and then closed the door as quietly as possible so she would draw any attention to herself. She would really prefer it if this woman would leave. Rachel wasn't even really sure why her mother had let her in since it was clear Shelby didn't want her there. Rachel sighed and leaned against the wall. This night was finally just supposed to be the two of them.
Rachel looked down at her socked feet and wondered what she should do. She thought it might be best to escape to her room, but she wanted to be there for her mother.
"I didn't say anything because I knew you would react this way," Shelby said. "You are always so negative and you can't see the beauty and love of the situation. Nothing I have ever done has been able to please you so why should this be any different."
"Don't try and blame your bad choices on me," Evelyn snapped back. "How could you possibly think having a baby for money was ok?"
Rachel lifted her head and looked at Shelby to wait for an answer. Logically, she knew the basics behind the surrogacy. She knew Shelby had been paid, but Evelyn had just made it sound so dirty and awful.
"It was ok," Shelby said. "I helped two loving and wonderful men have the baby they so desperately wanted. I helped them create their family."
"You sold a baby for money!" Evelyn said. "You should hear what some of the people at church are saying about you."
"I don't care what they're saying," Shelby yelled. "I did not sell a baby for money. I never would have been pregnant if not for them. They had a baby, not me."
Rachel's eyes went a little wider and tears formed in them. What did that mean?
"How very convenient then," Evelyn sneered at her. "You traded a baby so you could make it here after your father and I refused to give you one more nickel towards a pipe dream."
"A pipe dream?" Shelby laughed bitterly. "Look around you, Mother. I live in a multi-million dollar apartment because of that dream. I hate to break it to you because I know you never wanted me to succeed, but I made it on Broadway and I made it in movies and I've travelled the country and the world giving concerts. I've sang for the president and his family. I have done all of that and more without an ounce of help from you or dad. It would have been an improvement if you had actually given me a nickel. The only reason I was ever able to make it back here and have all of that happen is because I had Rachel."
The two women turned and looked at Rachel who, for once, found herself uncomfortable to be the center of attention. She blinked back the tears that had formed and stood up a little straighter. Despite having on jeans and a long sleeve sweater, Rachel felt a chill. She felt like she had stepped right into the middle of what was an older argument.
"Come over here," Evelyn said to Rachel. "I want to get a real look at you."
Rachel didn't move and looked to Shelby who sighed and turned back to her mother. But the older woman didn't give her a chance to say anything.
"I said, come over here," Evelyn said. "You'd think the lighting would be better in a multi-million dollar apartment."
Shelby bit her tongue and didn't respond to the dig. It didn't matter if it was the lighting in her home or the way she'd done her homework as a kid; nothing was ever right for her mother.
Rachel pushed herself away from the wall and walked towards them and came to a stop near her mother. She didn't like this woman and she was regaining some of her confidence since being caught off guard in the hallway. Why did this woman think she could just barge into homes and lives unannounced?
Evelyn watched how Rachel moved and sulked and held her ground with angry, sad eyes. She looked so much like Shelby had at that age. There was no denying the girl was her daughter's child. Her daughter who was supposed to have married a nice boy and bought a house down the street to give her grandchildren, and instead ran as far away as she could get the very moment she was able. Shelby had contradicted them at every moment growing up. She didn't like church, she didn't want to get married right away, yes she was going to college, no she didn't want to work in an office or be a stay-at-home mom, yes she was going to make it, she'd shouted at them before leaving for college. Evelyn remembered laughing to cover up her hurt that the child she'd never been able to really know was actually leaving. She'd always been envious when she'd seen Shelby connecting with her friends' mothers in a way they never had. Why should Shelby give those women big hugs, but barely be able to speak to her. Hadn't they raised her right? Evelyn would never admit that she was harsh or too demanding. It wasn't her fault her daughter was a dreamer who never seemed to mesh with reality. Shelby had rejected every plan they had laid out for her. She and her husband had decided early on they were not going to support some wild fantasy about going to New York to be on Broadway. Oh, they knew she was talented, but they lived in the real world and not Shelby's imagination. It made them resent the fact that she'd actually done it all the more. They'd grown to actually like it after a while because of the all of the praise their friends and colleagues heaped on their daughter. Certainly they were proud…in their way. But the revelation of there being a girl named Rachel had brought all of those bad and resentful feelings to the surface. How dare Shelby do to that them. How dare she have a baby and then give it to two gay men. They had taught her better than that and all these years later she was still defying their every word and going against their every belief. As far as Evelyn was concerned, she had every right to be angry and she had every right to be here right now.
"You look like your mother," Evelyn said after a few moments.
"Yeah," Rachel agreed.
"I suppose you were quite happy to find out you've got a mother," Evelyn said. It was a leading question, but Rachel didn't get it.
"I was," Rachel said. "I've always wondered about her and it's been great to get to know her." She wasn't sure why this woman she didn't even know made her feel like she had to say the right thing or else.
"Of course you always wondered about her," Evelyn said. "No child should be put in a home with two gays and denied one of their parents. It is unnatural and just by the way you're acting, I can see you've been harmed by it."
Shelby could literally see Rachel stiffen beside her and the girl clenched her fists in anger. She stepped forward and opened her mouth to speak, but Rachel beat her to it.
"Don't you talk about my fathers like that! They are the best parents anyone could ever ask for," Rachel was yelling at her. "They are certainly a lot better parents than you and your husband are."
"I will not stand here and have you talk that way to me, young lady!" Evelyn yelled back. "I am your grandmother and I demand some respect."
"You don't deserve any respect!" Rachel shouted back. Her worry over rocking the boat or stepping out of line in front of this woman was gone. "Did you ever ask yourself why your daughter didn't tell you about me? Probably because she knew you'd come here and be a bitch!"
"Rachel!" Shelby scolded.
Evelyn gasped and stepped forward but Rachel held her ground even as the woman towered over her.
"You go to your room," Evelyn ordered coldly. "I don't even want you in my sight right now."
"Too bad," Rachel sassed. "Because this is my house and I'll stay where I want and if you don't like it, you can leave."
"Rachel, stop it," Shelby said. She stepped between the two of them and made Rachel move back.
"Is this how you let your child act, Shelby?" Evelyn asked. "Is this how she was raised to behave with those people? It really shouldn't be that surprising; you never did believe in rules and instructions. It's only natural you'd let your daughter be rude and disrespectful and not do anything about it."
"I am not going to do nothing about it," Shelby said. Rachel's jaw dropped behind her. "But Rachel is my daughter and you're in my house and you don't get to dictate anything to her. She's mine, not yours."
"No, she belongs to a couple of queers who should never be permitted around children because you latched onto the easiest way you could get to New York," Evelyn sneered. "Whores work in much the same way."
Anger boiled in Shelby, but she was used to such comments and though they still hurt, she had learned to deal with them over the years. She needed just a couple minutes and she'd have her mother out of her house. What she hadn't counted on was Rachel's reaction.
"Shut up!" Rachel flew past Shelby and pushed Evelyn away. The woman only took two steps back because Rachel's tiny stature wasn't much compared to the tall Evelyn. "You are mean and nasty and really stupid. I've only known Shelby a month and she's a better mother than you'll ever be. She is not a whore. My fathers love her and they love me. They are better than you in every way possible. Why did you even come here?"
Rachel tried to push Evelyn again, but the woman caught her arm and held her back. Shelby quickly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Rachel's waist and pulled her away.
"You will not speak to me that way," Evelyn bellowed. "Your fathers-"
"Stop talking about my fathers!" Rachel shouted. She struggled against Shelby's grasp, but the woman held her firmly.
"Rachel, stop it," Shelby ordered quietly.
"I knew you would have no idea how to be a mother," Evelyn said.
Rachel tried to lunge forward again, but Shelby was stronger and she turned the two of them away from her mother and moved towards the hallway a few steps.
"Rachel, go to your room please," Shelby said. "I-
"What?" Rachel asked incredulously. "You agree with her?"
"No, but-"
"This isn't fair!" Rachel yelled as angry tears started to fall.
Shelby just needed Rachel out of the room for two minutes so she could get her mother out of the house. They were feeding off of each other now and it had to stop before she could get anything done.
"Rachel, please," Shelby said again. She wanted to hold her girl and stop her tears, but she had to get Evelyn out of the house first.
"No," Rachel shouted and she broke free from her mother's grasp and stood away from her.
Rachel couldn't believe this was happening again. This was supposed to be their weekend and her mother had brought Brian in and let him hang around. And now she was siding with her horrible mother over Rachel and the girl stomped her foot and tears traced their way down her cheeks. Why was she getting in trouble for standing up for her parents? Why had her mother said only her dads had a baby and not her?
"Rachel!" Shelby raised her voice to try and get her daughter's attention. "Stop now."
"No! Why are you letting her ruin everything?" Rachel demanded to know.
"I'm not, I just-"
"Yes you are!" Rachel interrupted her. "You just want me out of the way again. Fine, I'll get out of the way, but I'm not going to my room, I'm leaving!"
Before Shelby could stop her, Rachel's quick strides had taken her out the door and she had slammed it behind her. It was a classic Rachel Berry storm out.
"Rachel!" Shelby jumped into action and followed after her.
Shelby opened the front door in time to see the elevator doors closing with Rachel on it. She ran back inside and straight for her phone. Shelby quickly called down to the doorman on duty.
"Eric, hi. It's Shelby. My daughter is on her way down there right now. Please don't let her leave the building," Shelby said. "One of those nights, yes. I'll be down in a minute or two to get her. Thanks."
Shelby hung up the phone and turned and gave her mother a dangerous glare.
"Shelby, you have no idea how to control that child," Evelyn said. "It's clear as day that she needs some stability in her life. Two men cannot give that to a child and neither can you with your way of life."
"Shut up!" Shelby yelled. Her fists were clenched in much the same way Rachel's were earlier. "How dare you come in here and speak to me like that. I am an adult and this is my home and that is my daughter you just upset to the point of her walking out. You are the one with no manners and no civility and no right to say anything about her or her parents or how she was raised. Trust me, Mom, your Mother of the Year Award is never going to arrive."
Evelyn stood up straighter and pursed her lips tightly at Shelby's words.
"You have always hated me because I was never what you wanted," Shelby went on.
Evelyn's eyes softened just a bit; she had never hated her daughter.
"Well I'm sorry that I wasn't the daughter you planned for or wanted and that you got stuck with me," Shelby continued. "But I am done even trying to play nice with you. I never want to see you show up here unannounced ever again. In fact, I don't want to see you until you have apologized to Rachel for everything you said about her and her parents. Her fathers are wonderful men. I don't care what you say to me because I know you're never going to change your mind about me, but you will never talk that way about my daughter or her family again. Your words used to hold a lot of power over me, but not anymore. Rachel is right. You are not nice and you can be so horrible to those around you because everything you see and say is filtered to be negative. I've given up on you trying to see the good in anything. What's worse is that you don't even realize that you've missed out on the chance to know the only granddaughter you'll probably ever have because you decided to attack her instead of love her. Not that I would ever have expected anything different from you."
"You will not-"
"Yes I will," Shelby cut off her defense before it could even get going. "I'm sorry you wasted all that money flying out here because you aren't staying. I want you to get your bag and get out of my house. I will put you up in a hotel tonight and pay for your flight home tomorrow morning. You are no longer welcome here again until Rachel hears an apology. Don't worry, I won't be holding my breath waiting for it. I want you gone before I get back with Rachel. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and get my daughter and tell her how much I love her. I almost wish, for your sake, that you knew how to do that. It feels amazing."
Shelby left Evelyn standing there speechless as she hurried out the door and down to the lobby to get Rachel.
Rachel ignored Eric, the doorman, when she reached the lobby and he told her she needed to stop and wait for her mother. She didn't even stop as she walked right by him and out in the night. The freezing air slammed into her and Rachel immediately started to shiver and she crossed her arms over her chest. Her socks were already starting to get wet from the snow and ice that littered the ground. She hadn't really thought this storm out all the way through because if she had, she would have grabbed her jacket and shoes. But she was angry and she knew she had every right to be. She shouldn't be punished for telling that awful woman how she felt. Screw that lady. She really couldn't believe her mother had tried to send her away though. How could she do that? Her mother was supposed to stand up her for not send her away. She knew her fathers would never have let that lady get that far. This weekend was supposed to be perfect and it had been anything but. She wished she could call her dads and talk to them, but she didn't even have her phone with her. This storm out was not going well. Figures.
Rachel walked away from the doors a little bit to try and warm herself up. She knew she wasn't really going to go anywhere, but she was too stubborn to turn around and go back inside and up to the apartment. She needed a few minutes, even if her ears and feet were literally starting to hurt it was so cold outside.
Shelby walked into the lobby and stopped when she didn't see Rachel. Eric was giving her a sheepish look and his eyes widened when Shelby stalked his way and demanded to know where her daughter was.
"She left," Eric said quickly. "I tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen."
"She left?" Shelby questioned. "You mean she went out in the cold?! Are you crazy?"
Shelby's mind raced as she headed for the door. She knew that Rachel didn't have a coat or a hat with her. She didn't have one either, but that didn't matter right now. A freezing gust of wind welcomed her when she stepped outside and Shelby pulled her arms in tight around her. She was going to kill that kid for coming out in this with no hate and jacket. Or shoes!
"Rachel!" Shelby exclaimed when she saw her daughter standing a few dozen feet from the door shifting from foot to foot to stay warm. Her socks were soaked now.
"Mom," Rachel was shivering and she took a few steps towards Shelby who was hurrying her way.
"What were you thinking coming out here?" Shelby asked as she wrapped Rachel in a quick hug and rubbed her back.
"You don't have a jacket on either," Rachel pointed out.
"That is beside the point," Shelby said. "Let's get you inside."
Shelby walked Rachel as fast as they could back to the main doors and into the lobby of the grand apartment building. The warm air was welcome and Shelby shot Eric another glare as they headed towards the elevators. Just as Shelby was about to push the button, the door opened and Evelyn walked out pulling a suitcase behind her. Rachel didn't say anything and just stepped off to the side. Evelyn didn't acknowledge her as she walked past.
"Wait right here," Shelby said to Rachel. "I mean it. Don't move."
Shelby led Evelyn over to Eric and instructed him to call her a cab and gave the name of the hotel she would call as soon as she got back upstairs.
"Goodbye, Mother," Shelby said.
"Goodbye," Evelyn said and she stood up straight and clasped her hands in front of her without looking at Shelby.
Shelby walked away and got into the elevator with Rachel who reached over and pushed the correct button. She was still shivering pretty badly and Shelby took Rachel's cold hands in her own and started to rub them.
"She's leaving?" Rachel asked once the elevator started to move.
"Yes," Shelby answered.
There were a few seconds of silence until the elevator reached the correct floor. Rachel stepped off first and her socks squished beneath her feet.
"We are going to get you warmed up and then you and I are going to have a long talk," Shelby said.
Rachel guessed that this talk wasn't the same as the one they were planning before they knew Evelyn Corcoran was in town. She sighed and nodded and followed her mother into the apartment.
A/N – Thank you all so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. It would really make my day. Thanks!
